Every once in awhile...

our kitchen table looks like this...

it just happens when my kids get into "craft" mode...

sometimes they end up like this...

and when they let their imaginations go wild...

Samantha and Joshua's Pet Rock Collection 2011

they make and create...

Joshua's                  ~Fabric Paint Mix~               Samantha's

and I'm bursting at the seams with love, joy and pride.

DIY Angry Bird Backpack

When we bought my son's backpack for school, I was surprised that he wanted a plain Jane backpack.  No Spiderman. No Batman. Not even Spongebob. He chose a black, red and grey backpack.  But I was not surprised that Joshua already had something in mind for his plain Jane backpack. He wanted an Angry Bird backpack...more specific, he wanted the black bomb bird and the red angry bird.  So this was my solution to his 'simple' request.

I found Angry Bird clip art online and traced it with freezer paper.  I cut out the images and ironed them onto the flaps.  Cheri at I Am Momma-Hear Me Roar has a really good tutorial on freezer paper stenciling.

Right about this point is when I regretted the whole idea of the freezer paper.  See how I burned the nylon around the black edge of the flap...ugh! But I just carried on...the only option I had was to try to make it better.  So once I was done, I went back and painted in the burned part with fabric paint. It doesn't look that bad. And the best part is that Josh didn't notice...or at least he didn't say anything.

So, I painted the flaps with fabric paint, including the beaks.  I added googly eyes with fabric glue.  

A week later into kindergarten and the eyes are still on.

Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out, burned flap and all.

It's the perfect backpack for Buddy to wait for Joshua every day.  We NEVER leave home without Buddy...

not even on the first day of school. 

Sam's shirt tutorial.  Rose clip tutorial. Joshua's shirt tutorial. 

So far, Buddy has perfect attendance 

and he doesn't mind waiting in the backpack until the end of the school day. 

That is when he gets to come out of the backpack and ride the bus shot gun with his best bud, Joshua. 

I love you with all of my HEARTS...shirt

I made this shirt for my 3rd grader on her first day of school. 

It matched nicely with the Charming Rose Hair Clip I made for her. 

Our town Wal-Mart was in renovation mode this summer so I bought several shirts for a buck a piece.  

I used two of those shirts to make this one for Sam; the solid one fit and the flowered one was a size 5 (way too small for Sam).  It didn't matter since I knew I would use it somehow. 

I cut up the flowered shirt...

and cut out as many hearts as I could. 

I pinned them onto the solid pink shirt...

and went to town sewing across each heart with contrasting thread. I didn't bother stopping when I came to the edge of a heart; I just kept  sewing.  I made sure to back stitch each line before and after the stitch.  

I like the rawness of the look.

It didn't matter if the stitches were kinda wonky or uneven...

I even added hearts to the back of the shirt.

Then I cut in-between the stitches.  

You can use these 2 tutorials (here and here) for further details on how to do this. 

To the sleeves I added the ruffle that was on the neckline of the flowered shirt. 

I just cut it in two pieces and sewed them on.

It just seems to complete the look of the shirt.

And so off Sam went to be a 3rd grader, 

heart shirt and all.  

I'm glad that she's never too big to be Daddy's girl...

doesn't this picture just melt your heart...?

Fun the the Hot Texas Sun ~ Austin Style

It has been an "I-can't-remember-the-last-time-it-was-this-sweltering-HOT-outside", kinda summer here in Central Texas. So we have been doing a lot of this to beat the SUN and its scorching, blistering, sizzling, stifling and oppressive heat rays.  All I have to say is, In your face Mr. Sun...take that! At this record breaking temperature rate, I suspect that we will be playing in these fountains through December.

Corina's Denim Bag

I made another denim bag out of a girl's overall dress.  

This time I made it for my sister Corina.  
It's basically the same bag as the Chic Denim Bag but with slight differences to make it a unique bag for my sister.

Here is what the dress looked like before it took on the role of a bag. 

I loved the bib of the dress.  It made a nice pocket.

I also made a belt to match the inside.  
I used the metal hardware (D ring?) from the dress for this.

There were two instances where I could not get my sewing machine needle to go through; I broke 3 needles trying.  So I used heavy duty hot glue instead.   
I used it here ...

and here. I stitched the strap with the red thread to give it the "sewn" look but then hot glued it to the bag. You can't tell that it's glued on. 

I didn't have to do anything to the straps; they are already attached on the back.

Now, I got to go and make the Racheal Bag...yeah, my other sister wants on too.

Through Joshua's Eyes

I recently downloaded pictures from my camera and I found these random pictures.  Seems like Joshua has taken an interest in photography as this is not the first time he plays with the camera.  I think I have a budding photographer on my hands.  

Self portraits  

Love this picture of popcorn in a bowl.  

How he did it, I don't know but it's pretty cool.

Feeder goldfish that were bought to get the "cycle" going in our new  aquarium

Picture of  his at-the-moment-favorite action figure; Tron

I never know what I'm gonna get when I down load my pictures but one thing is for sure, I love seeing Joshua's world through HIS eyes.